


Silent Noise

by LegolassieMalfoy



Series: Target Heart [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternative Canon, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Canon Disabled Character, Deaf Character, Deaf Clint Barton, Disability, Drama, Injury, Major Character Injury, Other, Permanent Injury, Physical Disability, Psychological Drama, Tragedy, Violence, torture (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:54:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3893734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegolassieMalfoy/pseuds/LegolassieMalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'This doesn't look good'.  </p><p>Darkest hour.  Changes.  Physical damage.  These are all things Clint Barton will adapt too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silent Noise

Darkness ebbed away as Clint returned to consciousness. The simple room span as he tried to regain his equilibrium. He had no concept of how long he had been unconscious for. He was just aware that he had been badly beaten and captured. His body began to registrar all the injuries. His nerves felt on fire as he tried to sit up. He was aware of his own dried blood that formed from various deep wounds. All of that faded when he realised one thing, he couldn’t hear a thing. 

He panicked and tried to calm his breathing. The disconcerting pounding of his heart rate throughout his body threw him. He couldn’t hear it but he could really feel it as it shook throughout his body. He managed to sit up and lean against a wall. He felt the bare stone through his blood soaked shirt to his back. He shivered and then reluctantly lifted a hand to his ear. His fingers grazed across damaged puckered skin. He realised that both his ears were similar. He grunted out swear words. He then suddenly stopped when he couldn’t hear himself speak. He closed his eyes trying to break himself from this nightmare. It was no nightmare, this was very real. He had been captured, beaten up and left deaf. He looked around the small room and began to lose all conscious again. 

When he next came round he found himself in a hospital. He quickly sat up and looked around for anyone to give him a clue on how he had been rescued. He got out of the bed and headed to the adjacent bathroom. He cautiously looked at his reflection in the mirror. A black eye and several large cuts looked back at him. He slowly turned his head and could see that there was bandages covering both ears. He tried to lift one off. Wincing in pain as he lifted the bandage. He saw the damage underneath and gasped. He immediately pulled away from the mirror. He then felt a hand clamp round his wrist. He had left the bathroom door open and hadn’t heard any one come in. He frantically looked into the eyes of Agent Maria Hill. He could see her speaking but couldn’t make out what she was saying. He tried to pull away from her. She gently pulled him closer to her and tried to calm him down. She had clearly seen the panic in his eyes. She managed to get him to follow her out into the room that he had been set up in. She took him over to the bed and got him to sit down. He saw that there was a doctor. The doctor had been explaining what the damage was. It was very real. He had indeed lost his hearing. 

The hours bled into each other as Clint recovered. He grew frustrated at many tests to see if his hearing would come back or if it was permeate damage. He grew silent and distant as he realised that it was permeate. He began to realise his life had now changed. 

He let out a sigh of relief as he was released from hospital. All his injuries were healing well. All except one. He will never get his hearing back. He wandered to his New York apartment, his home away from home, disappearing into its welcoming cocoon. He slumped down onto the sofa as he looked round the familiar surroundings. He hated that everything was so quiet. At the same time he couldn’t help but notice how much sharper his tactile senses had become. He could feel the smoothness of the leather in the sofa more. As he ran a hand across the surface he wondered if his other senses like sight and smell would also adjust. He sat up and his heart sank as he realised one thing that he couldn’t hear. 

He stood up and headed up to the second bedroom which he had turned into a study/music room. He had adored music for as long as he could remember. One of the first instruments he had learnt was the piano. He owned a large dark wooden piano which he always loved to lose himself in whenever a mission had been tough or he was feeling down. His eyes glanced over the beautiful instrument as he approached it. He ran a hand along the surface remembering soft tunes and epic ballads. He softly sat down in front of it and tentatively placed his fingertips on the cool keys. He closed his eyes and started to play. 

Nothing,,,,, absolutely nothing. 

He slammed the keyboard lid down in anguish. He had lost the one thing that could keep him sane. The ability to listen and create music. He dropped his face into his hands and wept. 

He tried to fight the growing depression of losing something that he loved. He was called to SHIELD where he began to be fitted with hearing aids. He was being fitted with digital hearing aids that would be able to adjust to different situations. He had to have special ones fitted that would be able to work under extreme condition in field work. Whilst there he also began to learn sign language. He was frustrated at first but picked it up very quickly. He returned home and studied his reflection trying to get used to how the hearing aids looked. He gave a weak smile realising that he would be okay. He looked down the hall to the study/music room. With a sharp intake of breath he slowly approached the piano and sat before it. He lifted up the keyboard lid cautiously. With a shaking index finger he pressed down gently on the middle C. His eyelids fluttered as he fought back building tears. A familiar sound could be heard on the edge of his digital hearing. It wasn't as crisp as his own natural hearing had been but he could hear something. He smiled and laughed a little. He then got up and returned to the mirror. He then hand signed to himself.  
“I’m going to be fine.” 

A vibration was felt in his pocket and he looked down. It was his phone. An email, top priority had come through. No, everything wasn't fine. Nothing was going to be the same again.

**Author's Note:**

> ((This was written up for my roleplay version of MCU's Clint Barton. Mine is named Jeremy C Barton to save on confusion on roleplay sites. This forms part of his backstory. I decided to post it here as I have decided to expand the story. 
> 
> After much thought I decided that I would make my version of MCU Clint Barton deaf. It had bugged me that his deafness hadn't been shown in the films. Being a stickler for accuracy I stuck with it but decided that I wanted to explore the character as the comic verse had intended which was for him to be deaf. This is introducing his disability. This is also serving as an introduction to a follow up story which will be linked to this one. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy)).


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